Are you looking for a fun, family-friendly getaway this summer?  Why not add North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains and a stop at North Carolina’s first theme park, Tweetsie Railroad to your list?

I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite things about living in North Carolina is how many fun, family-friendly places and activities there are to do and see.  I love that we’ve got great beaches to the East and absolutely beautiful mountains to the west with all sorts of fun scattered between.  It really is the best.  (It’s at least always been home so I’m a little partial.)

Today, I’m excited to share another North Carolina gem with you – Tweetsie Railroad – a Wild West adventure for the whole family.  Located in Blowing Rock, NC – it’s nestled right in the Blue Ridge Mountains and just a short drive from Boone.

My family received complimentary media tickets to Tweetsie Railroad in exchange for this review.  All experiences and opinions are mine alone. 

I have fond memories of visiting Tweetsie Railroad with my family growing up.  I have 3 siblings, so my parents were always trying to find vacation places that would create great family memories and that would be fun for everyone.

So when my family decided to head to the mountains for our vacation this year, I knew that I wanted to take Little to the place I loved so much growing up.

I’m happy to report that even though I hadn’t been to Tweetsie in years, it was just as wonderful as I remembered it.  Little had a ball and asked to go back everyday following.

Tweetsie Railroad: Fun for the Whole Family

The first thing we did when we got into the park was pick up a map and guest guide.  It’s a great way to help plan out your day since it’s full of helpful information such as show times and descriptions, a great list of all the food options, shopping, first aid, , and even where to find changing stations (in all restrooms except at Tweetsie Palace and the Ticket Office) and a nursing station (at the First Aid station, although I was able to nurse our littlest in the park without any trouble).

Just past the ticket office is Main St and the loading station for the train.  We spent a few minutes here mapping out our day, walking past several souvenir shops and restaurants, and watching the train get ready to take off before heading up the hill to the Country Fair for rides.

The park itself is divided into four main areas: Country Fair and Miner’s Mountain which have most of the rides and games, and Tweetsie Junction and Main St. which are home to the Train, Tweetsie Palace, and many shops and restaurants.

Tweetsie’s Country Fair

As you can see from some of the photos, it was really cloudy when we visited and actually ended up raining for most of our trip.  Fortunately, we were still able to do most things, but we definitely skipped somethings and will be saving them for our next visit.

Our first stop was the Country Fair.  Little immediately wanted to ride the Carousel so that’s what we did.

He also rode on the Turnpike Cruisers cars with Hubs and was really brave to try the Tilt-a-Whirl and the Ferris Wheel (to be fair though, he said the Tilt-a-Whirl was too fast and we got off of the Ferris Wheel after one turn around because he was nervous).

It was his first time on any sort of spinning rides like that though, so I’m not sure he really knew what to expect.  I was really proud of him for trying it and thankful to the staff who helped him feel comfortable (allowing us to get off the ride if needed).  That is really important to me with young kids.

The country fair also has a fun Planes & Helicopters ride that is perfect for his age, arcade games, and a few rides that are specifically for older kids.

Next, Little wanted to ride the Chair Lift up to Miner’s Mountain.  This actually ended up being a big highlight.  He LOVED the Chair Lift ride with Hubs.  I took the stroller and rode the bus shuttle up the mountain with my parents and the littlest, which was easy peasy.

I was actually impressed at how often the shuttle came around.  It really didn’t feel like we had to wait very long at all to catch a ride.

There’s also a walking trail you can take to get from the Country Fair to Miner’s Mountain, although we didn’t take it so I can’t speak to it.

Miner’s Mountain:  More Rides, Animals, and Shows

Once we were all together again, Little saw another train ride that he immediately wanted to try.  The Mouse Mine Train is PERFECT for young kids who might be afraid to ride the big train, or want something not so loud.  It’s a fun train ride that stops through a tunnel (or “mouse mine”) with a really fun mouse-themed exhibit with fun music and colors that will make everyone laugh.

Next, we made our way back up the hill to Deer Park Zoo.  If you’ve been around here for long, or follow me on social media, you’ve heard me mention that Little LOVES animals.  Like really loves them.  They are his favorite things.  I was worried that the animals wouldn’t be out because of the rain, but I was happily surprised to see that actually quite a few of them were out.

This was definitely a highlight of our day.  You can buy cones of food for just $0.50 each if you’d like to feed the animals, so it really is a fun, hands-on experience for everyone.

 

Shows at Tweetsie Railroad

If I’m being totally honest, I was nervous about the shows with Little.  Mostly, I was nervous that he wouldn’t sit through them and that I’d end up chasing him in the middle of a show.  BUT, boy was I wrong.  The shows ended up being some of my favorite parts of our trip – especially since it was raining.

We were able to easily catch all of them thanks to the helpful show time list in our guide and they were all timed just right for kids.  Each show was about 20 minutes long and really engaging for the whole family.

We watched a magic show, got to see the Can-Can Dancers, Hopper and Porter (a really fun show with live cartoon characters), and our very favorite – a clogging show where the kids got to all go up on stage for a mini clogging lesson.

Food at Tweetsie

No matter where you are in the park, you are not far from food.  They have everything from ice cream and cotton candy, pretzels, BBQ, burgers, hot dogs, pizza, and even homemade fudge!

We ended up eating at Miner’s Diner, which was primarily hot dogs and pizza since that was nearby at lunch.  I wish we had a chance to go back to Feed and Seed though, which had many more options for everyone.  Next time.

We also missed the homemade fudge in my attempts to limit the sweets for the boys, but it’s on my list for our next trip.  I love chocolate and really, homemade fudge?! Yes, please.

*You can also pack your own snacks, which is actually a great idea to save some money in the parks or if you have food allergies or picky little ones.

Tweetsie Railroad’s Engine 12 Train Ride

Finally, last but not least, we took a ride on Tweetsie’s train before calling it a day.  Of course, the rain had just stopped by the time our guys were ready to head back for naps.

Little was really excited to get to ride “the big train”.  Engine 12 was the first steam locomotive at Tweetsie and used to run between Johnson City, Tennessee and Boone, North Carolina from 1919-1940.  (Bonus Fact:  Tweetsie’s other train, Engine No. 190 turns 75 this year!)

The train ride takes you for a 3 mile loop through the mountain side and stops twice for fun dramatic skits from the wild west.

Round trip, it’s about a 20 minute ride through the mountainside.  For the best views of the shows, you’ll want to sit on the right hand side of the train.

This was a big highlight of our trip and is the staple ride at Tweetsie.

Other Tips

Overall we had a great trip to Tweetsie Railroad.  It was so much fun to be able to take the boys to a place that I enjoyed growing up.  And, it was really fun to get to see my parents go as grandparents.  I don’t know who had more fun – them or the boys.

If you’re planning a trip to Tweetsie, here are some of my best tips:

• Get your hand stamped when you go into the park.  This will let you leave and come back later.
  • Especially helpful if you might need to let young kids take a nap.  (If we didn’t have plans later that night, we would have definitely been back after nap!)
• If you’ll be in town more than just the day, go after 3:00 PM.  This will make your tickets good for the following day, too.
  • This is a great way to explore the park, ride a few rides, and make a plan for the next day.
  • You can definitely get to everything in a day and this will be sure to let you ride your favorite rides multiple times!
• Check the weather.
  • We had a really great time during our visit, but I know we could have seen a lot more had we not gone when it was raining.
  • *If the rain causes rides to be inoperable, Tweetsie will give you a rain check to return another day.
• Be sure to check their calendar for special events!
  • Every Saturday in July for example, the park stays open late for Cool Summer Nights.
  • In the fall, they’ve got a Ghost Train and a Christmas train in the winter!

Final Thoughts

We had a great time at Tweetsie Railroad and we were so thankful to them for hosting us for the day.  It was our first amusement park with kids and we made lots of good memories.

Tweetsie Railroad seemed just like I remembered it, just a little bit smaller now that I’m an adult.  It’s manageable in a day even with young kids.  And all the park staff were kind and helpful.  If you’re in Boone or Blowing Rock, or even within driving distance, it’s definitely worth a trip!

For more information about Tweetsie Railroad be sure to check out their website!

And While You’re in Town

After you visit Tweetsie Railroad, be sure to check out some of the other great things that Boone and Blowing Rock have to offer!  These are some of the other things we enjoyed on our vacation.

• For the adventurer: High Gravity Adventures Zip Line and Aerial Park – shares a parking lot with Tweetsie!
  • We didn’t do this, but it looks awesome.
• Family dinner: Dan’l Boone Inn – DELICIOUS, Southern food served family style.
• For the sweet tooth: Mast General Store’s Old Time Candy Barrel
• More family fun: Mystery Hill – NC’s Natural Gravitational Anomaly
• For our next trip: The Children’s Playhouse – Boone’s Children’s Museum for children ages 0-8

Be sure to check out more of our family travels!